Child Psychology Doctoral Internship Program

The major aspiration of the program is to provide an integrated, individually tailored, and balanced series of learning experiences that will serve the aspiring professional psychologist with opportunities to:

• Practice and expand on previously held knowledge and learned skills.

• Develop new skills and knowledge.

• Experience personal and professional growth and development, thus contributing to the emergence of a competent, scientist/practitioner professional psychologist 

• Gain a working knowledge of the pediatric medical community and skills to work as part of a multidisciplinary team.

In order to support this aspiration and our program philosophy, the following represent the internship's training goals:

Goal 1: Interns will engage in practices and behaviors that facilitate effective professional relationships.

Goal 2: Interns will know how to assess and conceptualize psychological functioning in a diverse range of presenting problems with diverse pediatric populations.

Goal 3: Interns will gain clinical experience in the provision of effective psychological intervention.

Goal 4: Interns will gain clinical experience in the practice of consultation.

Training sequence 

Clinical Child Psychology Track 

The Clinical Child Psychology Track meets the internship core competencies through a year-long outpatient clinical child experience and three 4-month long rotations picked from five options: ADHD, Behavioral Pediatrics, Eating Disorders, Feeding/Elimination Disorders, and Autism/Developmental Disabilities, as well as through research and didactics. The clinical child track emphasizes experiences that build skills that will prepare interns to be competitive for fellowships in clinical child psychology and for careers in academic medical centers, primary care clinics, private practice, and a variety of other settings.

Clinical Child Track Experiences:  

A yearlong (2 half days per week) outpatient clinical child experience including assessment and intervention with children, from early childhood through adolescence, who are referred by community pediatric providers or pediatric subspecialists within the hospital with concerns of attention problems, disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, autistic spectrum disorder, learning problems, developmental delay and associated behavioral concerns, feeding problems, elimination disorders and comorbid medical conditions. 

The final two months of the clinical child experience 
has an optional opportunity to co-lead ADHD parent and/or child groups.

A year-long (3 half days per week) outpatient consultation and brief intervention experience for children and adolescents seen in our Primary Care Clinic (PCC). Consultations include concerns such as attention problems, disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, screening and referral for autistic spectrum disorder, school problems, feeding problems, elimination disorders and comorbid medical conditions.

Three, 4-month long (2 half days per week) specialty rotations. Interns may choose to obtain concentrated experiences in 3 out of 5 rotation options:

• ADHD

• Behavioral Pediatrics 

• Eating Disorders 

• Feeding and Elimination 

• Autism/Developmental Disabilities
  
  

Pediatric Psychology Track 

The Pediatric Psychology Track meets the internship core competencies through yearlong experiences in inpatient consultation/liaison and outpatient child psychology clinic and three 4-month long rotations in medical specialty clinics, neuropsychology, and integrated pain management, as well as through research and didactics. The pediatric psychology track emphasizes experiences that build skills that will promote interns being competitive for pediatric psychology fellowships and successful in careers as pediatric psychologists. 

Pediatric Track Experiences:

A year-long (2 half-days per week) outpatient clinical child experience including assessment and intervention with referrals from pediatric subspecialists for youth with a chronic medical condition and emotional/behavioral, adjustment, and learning concerns including anxiety, depression, ADHD, learning difficulties, oppositional behavioral and adjustment to and non-adherence to medical regimens.

A year-long (3 half-days per week) inpatient consultation/liaison (CL) experience with consults originating from inpatient medical teams (e.g., GI, hem/onc, rehabilitation, neurology, surgery, general pediatrics) with consult questions including assessment of and recommendations for adjustment to medical diagnosis/treatment, barriers to medical adherence, and emotional/behavioral functioning, as well as implementation of behavioral interventions.

Three, 4-month long (2 half-days per week) specialty rotations with concentrated experiences in the following areas:

• Pain Management (e.g., headache clinic, general pain management, or RAPS program)

• Pediatric subspecialty clinic (e.g., endocrine/diabetes, GI, hem/onc, etc.)

• Neuropsychological assessment (e.g., neurodevelopmental, inpatient rehab, or neuro-oncology)
  
  

Expected outcomes 

At the end of internship, we expect that our interns will 1) engage in practices and behaviors facilitating effective professional relationships at the requisite level for entry into the field of psychology; 2) know how to assess and conceptualize psychological functioning in a diverse range of children and presenting problems; 3) gain clinical experience in the provision of effective psychological intervention; and 4) gain clinical experience in the practice of consultation.

We expect that our trainees will go on to demonstrate the minimal level of profession-wide competencies in the areas of Research; Ethical and Legal standards; Individual and Cultural Diversity; Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors; Communication and Interpersonal Skills; Assessment; Intervention; Supervision and Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary skills.

We expect that upon meeting these aims and competencies that our interns will go on to be successful in obtaining postdoctoral fellowships, licensure, and/or careers within the broad field of psychology.

1. What is the mailing address for the program?
    Children's Mercy Kansas City
    Division of Developmental and Behavioral Health
    Section of Psychology
    Attn: Anna Egan, Ph.D., ABPP
    2401 Gillham Road Kansas City, Mo. 64108
    (816) 234-3674

2. How many positions are available?

There are 4 doctoral internship positions available. Interns also have an opportunity to apply for at least three, 1-year postdoctoral clinical positions or two, 2-year postdoctoral clinical/research position to begin upon successful completion of the internship program.

3. How long is the program and what are the start and end dates?

The positions have a typical start date of the first August and a completion date towards the end of July the following year. 

4. Do I need to have my dissertation completed and defended before I can start your program?

While we prefer that interns be in the defense stage of their dissertation when starting the internship, we realize that this is not always possible. We give preference to applicants who have shown significant progress towards dissertation completion.

5. Is it expensive to live in Kansas City?

Overall, living expenses in Kansas City are reasonable. Rent, the cost of owning a home, and the cost of food and fuel, all are generally lower than the national average, and lower than most other large municipalities.

Our internship site uses the AAPI Online Application Portal for submission of applications.

For more information about the development of the AAPI Online, including demonstrations and questions and answers, please visit the AAPIC Internship Matching Program website.

Application deadline 

The application deadline for this Clinical Child/Pediatric Psychology Internship for is 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2023. All qualified applications will be reviewed with invitations for virtual interviews being issued by no later than Dec. 15, 2023. Virtual interviews will be held in early January of 2024 (anticipated dates of 1/8/24 and 1/9/24). 

Recruitment guidelines 

The internship program follows APPIC Guidelines in the recruitment of interns. Specifically, we:

• Abide by the APPIC Match Policies. 

• Notify intern applicants that they can request a registration packet for the National Match System either through the National Matching Service's webpage or by calling them at (716) 282-4013.

• Send a copy of the APPIC policies to applicants who request them.

• Inform applicants who are excluded from consideration as early as possible in the process. 

• Refrain from offering an internship in any form before the beginning of selection day. 

• Certify, in writing, in no more than 72 hours following the end of selection day, all verbal agreements with applicants.